When I was a child, my parents gifted me with two encyclopedia sets. One was written for adults and the second set was written specifically for children, filled with obscure facts, biographies, and descriptions of exotic inventions and locations. I devoured both, spending nearly every moment of my free time immersed in these references.
These early reading and learning experiences shaped my present reading interests. I don’t read fiction. Why should I? From mothers eating their own placentas to health enthusiasts tanning their perineum hoping to get their daily dose of Vitamin D and sun-produced energy, every day the news is filled with stories so bizarre that my first inclination is to label it fake news. I am not alone. Numerous websites have emerged that critically examine and vet the news stories for the general public verifying whether the story is truth or fiction.
If one is casually reading the Bible, it may also seem like a fancifully spun fictional tale, no better than the myths and legends of other ancient cultures. A giant fish that swallowed a man then spit him up three days later? A great flood that covered the entire earth? A Savior born to a virgin woman? Absurd! There is one critical difference between the Bible and all other great works of religious literature. The Bible is not a series of random and unconnected stories, it a complete revelation of God’s plan for the redemption of the human race. Sin ruptured the perfect relationship between man and His Creator. Could animal sacrifices, gifts of money, or acts of kindness toward others ever restore this relationship? No, to restore a perfect relationship requires a perfect solution. Only a perfect God can perform this task. He did this by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to be born as a man. He was the perfect Man and God in one person. He lived and died on the Cross and on the third day, God, the Father, resurrected Him, forever conquering death, the tragic result of sin.
When one reads the Bible, it must be read and studied in its entirety. The seemingly disparate stories are intricately woven together. The man who was trapped in the giant fish for three days was a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ in His grave. The great flood is a foreshadowing of God’s grace and mercy to preserve the faithful through the Great Tribulation. Everything points to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. What about the Savior of the world dying on the Cross and raised to life? Absurd? Absolutely!
The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
Psalms 12:6 (ESV)
I don’t read fiction. I read the Bible. The purity of the Truth it proclaims is more astounding than any story that man could ever create!
Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.
The Bereans Blog 